Wild Designs

The pleasure in reading Fforde's new novel lies in the mounting she'll-show-'em expectations as the book becomes a modern Cinderella tale about a good-hearted, underappreciated supermom in her late 30s. Althea Farraday can grow a lemon tree from a pip but can't stand up against her bossy family. Sister Juno, two years her junior and ""always soignee,"" is especially lavish with her criticism: of Althea's messy house, her weight and her generally unstylish appearance. Ex-husband Frederick calls from Hong Kong to criticize the way she's chosen to educate their three teens, though he's been absent from their home in Gloucestershire for 12 years. And the incoming head of the restructured primary school where Althea has worked as secretary for many years finds her too old-fashioned for his high-tech vision of the school's new mission. But job loss gives her the same euphoria as divorce, and, despite tight funds, she decides to transform herself from a casual gardener to a garden designer. Architect Patrick Donahugh, who buys the greenhouse Althea uses to grow her plants, lives with a fitness-crazed young shopaholic named Topaz; he lets Althea continue to use his greenhouse and is soon as taken with her womanly figure as he is by her selfless devotion to her children. The push-pull of their relationship plays out against the backdrop of Althea's garden design successes--including delightful triumphs over the rich and snooty. OThis British bestselling author (The Rose Revived) has delivered a pocketful of posy. (July)